The present invention relates generally to swab devices and methods for using same to obtain bacteriologic or microbiologic specimens.
The gathering of bacteriologic specimen for culture is a complex subject and not well suited for simplification, but listed below are some generally accepted facts:
There is a wide variety of methods for collecting specimen for culture, and unfortunately no one method can best be applied for the recovery of all infectious agents.
Some bacterium is very sensitive to sudden changes in temperature.
Exposure of the microorganisms to small quantities of oxygen may kill or severely injure fastidious anaerobes.
Prolonged exposure to atmosphere has a drying effect that is detrimental to bacteriologic specimens.
In general, the handling of the specimen from point of collection to proper analysis in the laboratory is vitally important.
Present art standard anaerobic swabs, most commonly used today for collecting anaerobes, have their shortcomings:
Their pre-use anaerobic state is compromised when containers are uncapped and there is an admission of some air into previously oxygen free containers. Swab members are passed thru air enroute to bacteria location, and swab and specimen are passed thru air while being taken back to said oxygen free transportation container. Because it is imperative that these swab devices be held upright, they are less than convenient and subject to faulty handling practices.
Presently, once specimen arrives at laboratory, specimen sometimes sits before specimen is inoculated on proper selective culture medias. Once laboratory process begins, anaerobic specimens are again introduced into air when transport containers are opened and specimen is inoculated on culture media and taken to incubators.
Recent inventions, that create their own anaerobic atmosphere through the use of ampules, capsules granules, filters, puncturing pressurized CO.sub.2 cylinders and the like, cam sometimes be complicatedly impractical, economically unreasonable, and less than optimum efficient. In all cases they pass the specimen thru air during their use.